Happy TravellerWelcome to Dornbirn, the largest city in Vorarlberg and the tenth largest city in Austria. Located in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg, Dornbirn is the administrative centre for the district of Dornbirn, which also includes the town of Hohenems, and the market town Lustenau. Dornbirn is an important commercial and shopping centre, and boasts breathtaking landscapes and a rich history.
Dornbirn is located at 437 metres above sea level in the Alpine Rhine Valley, at the foot of the Karren mountain, part of the Bregenz Forest Mountain chain at the edge of the Eastern Alps. It is near the borders to Switzerland, Germany and Liechtenstein, making it a great base for exploring the region. The Dornbirner Ach river flows through the town and later into Lake Constance.
The earliest evidence of human presence in the Dornbirn area dates from the Mesolithic era. The name Dornbirn derives from torrin puirron, meaning the Settlement of Torro (the name of an Alemannic farmer living there), and thus has nothing to do with pears (German Birnen), although this fruit is prominently portrayed on the town emblem. Dornbirn became part of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1380. In 1793 it was elevated to a market community. It was not given municipal status until 1901. In 1932 the mountain village of Ebnit was annexed. In 1969 Dornbirn became the seat of the new Dornbirn district administrative authority.
Dornbirn is a great destination for culture lovers. The City Museum Dornbirn is Dornbirn’s local museum, specialized in the city’s history, early photography, traditional crafts, agriculture and the formerly flourishing textile industry. Inatura is an interactive natural history museum. The museum includes a documentation center about nature in Vorarlberg, along with an interactive exhibition. The Rolls-Royce Museum is a privately-owned automobile museum. It is said to have the world’s largest collection of Rolls-Royce cars. ART BODENSEE is an annual meeting point for artists, art collectors, and connoisseurs. Since 2001, it has included exhibits of works by international artists. The FLATZ Museum sees itself as a forum concerned with artistic impulses and contemporary cultural positions. It shows changing exhibitions designed by international guest curators, with a focus on photographic art; it organises readings, lecture series, discussions and performances.
Dornbirn is also home to the Mohrenbrauerei, founded in Dornbirn in 1834, which makes it the oldest operating brewery in Vorarlberg. The brewery offers tours and tastings to visitors, and provides an insight into the history of beer brewing in the region.
Dornbirn is an important junction of regional and interregional bus lines, connecting Bregenz to the north, Feldkirch to the south, and the Bregenz Forest to the east. The A14 Rheintal motorway (Autobahn) passes by to the west. Dornbirn’s railway station is an important stop for all trains between western and eastern Austria. A small airport is located at nearby Hohenems.
Education institutions in Dornbirn include the Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences, two general education secondary schools, and a higher technical vocational college (Höhere Technische Lehranstalt). The Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences (German: Fachhochschule Vorarlberg) was originally founded as a school for technology in 1989. It achieved the status of an officially recognized university in 1999. It currently offers bachelors and masters degrees in the fields of Business, Engineering & Technology, Design, and Social Work.
Dornbirn also offers plenty of opportunities for sports enthusiasts. Among the most important sports institutions in Dornbirn is the RHC Dornbirn, one of the most powerful Austrian Rink Hockey teams. In 2010 it hosted the 2010 Rink Hockey Men’s B World Championship. The Baseball & Softball Club Dornbirn was founded in 1990, and has won the Austrian national title twice. BSC Dornbirn consists of one youth team, two men’s teams, and two women’s teams. Dornbirn hosted the World Gymnaestrada event in 2007 and 2019.
Dornbirn is twinned with Dubuque, United States, Kecskemét, Hungary, and Sélestat, France. Come and experience the magic of Dornbirn for yourself!
